What If All Chinese Citizens Want Cars?

By Sophie Stern, International Affairs Senior Staff Writer

A German non-profit association, DroppingKnowledge.org, is a website that is frequented by philosophical junkies. A recent question posted by Andrew, a German in his early twenties, was: "What if all Chinese people want a car"? Steve Earle, a U.S. citizen, eloquently responded with the American view: "Then we're [expletive]". Realistically all Chinese citizens have the right to own a car; philosophically, however, this question brings attention to the increasing global concern about China’s development and priorities. I would like to address the rapid urbanization of China, America’s fear of China, and the bilateral trade deficit between China and the United States.

The Rapid Urbanization of China

An article published in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, "Greening the Red Cities", addresses sustainable development in China and makes the assumption that "if China's urban development slips into the auto-dependence trap into which the United States has fallen, the country will not only grossly increase the transportation sector's CO2 emissions but will also face severe oil shortages". The authors of "Greening the Red Cities", Qian, Finamore, and Chan, base their claim on the increase in urban private car ownership. In 1998, there were 2.3 million privately owned cars in urban areas. In six short years, that number jumped to 10.7 million paralleled by a staggering 250 percent increase in the amount of crude oil used per day.

The rapid urbanization of China is a fairly recent occurrence. In the past, the Chinese government strategically dispersed the population through the development of smaller “cities” in order to achieve political control and better economic performance. There is a strong correlation between China’s urbanization and energy consumption levels per GDP. China’s population has reached 1.3 billion making it very hard for China to cut down on energy consumption levels. As of now, China uses 15 percent of the world’s total energy. 

China, Inc.

Many Americans unfortunately fear China, not only because of the amount of jobs that move over seas, but because of its size, lack of transparency and the bilateral trading deficit between the U.S. and China. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) testified in front of the United States Senate Finance Committee to voice her concerns on the sizeable job loss in America. Over 3 million American jobs have moved to China and the number continues to grow. This number is daunting, but the American economic system is based on a capitalist model that thrives on cheap labor, accessibility, and speed. Jobs will continue to disappear as long as the United States operates within such a model.

A report on China from the Office of the United States Trade Representative states: “Trade with China remains among the least transparent and predictable of the world's major markets. Capricious practices by the Chinese customs quarantine officials can delay or halt shipments of agricultural products, sanitary and phytosanitary standards with questionable scientific basis, and a generally opaque regulatory regime frequently bedevil traders and agricultural commodities". The lack of transparency creates a great need for caution - not fear. There is always fear of the unknown, but as history proves, fear of the unknown often exacerbates a situation, whereas understanding and open-mindedness to change brings flexibility and success.

The Bilateral Trade Deficit

In 2006, our trade-deficit with China reached $232 billion. This growing figure has fueled a great debate on U.S. trade policy—whether or not the U.S. should become more protectionist or embrace the competition that China is creating. In March of this year, the United States Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the U.S.-China economic relationship. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) testified in front of the Committee in regards to free trade. Senator Dorgan, along with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), propose that in order to persuade China to follow the rules set forth by the World Trade Organization, we rescind the current Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status. Changing the trade status with China is not a bad idea necessarily; it may force China to honor international trade policies and standards. However, if the United States tries to enforce trade regulations single-handedly, conflict is inevitable. China’s disregard for international standards is a global issue and action needs to be taken at the international level.

In February, Senator Brown stated: "As far as I am concerned, there is nothing normal about allowing our trading partners to use slave labor to compete with our workers. There is nothing normal about manipulating currency to make exports cheaper. There is nothing normal about mouthing concern for intellectual property in the midst of rampant piracy. And if this is indeed normal, then I certainly don't want it to be permanent." Getting China to cooperate with the global community will be a challenge. As Director Steven Chu of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addressed in his testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, the Chinese government is not as centralized as the United States government and putting pressure on the central government is an ineffective approach. China has a relatively new government with extremely old traditions. Therefore, the Chinese tend to abide by tradition more than government policy.

The world has seen many different international systems: a balance of powers, bilateral systems, and since the Cold War, a unilateral system with the United States as the leading power. As globalization becomes more and more of a reality, the unilateral system may be ending. The power base will eventually shift, and the United States needs to be prepared for the day when it will have to rely on support from other nations to be successful in the world community.

Just recently, we have isolated ourselves, and in many ways handicapped ourselves, with the notion that America will always be number one. But until the Chinese Government becomes more transparent, generates a higher level of health and safety standards, and begins to cooperate with World Trade Organization, China will not become the next world power. Yes, the United States imports massive amounts from China, but this has been going on for years. Our bilateral trade deficit is a problem, but so is our national deficit. The United States is not allocating money to pay off international loans because of the staggering costs of the War in Iraq and other military obligations. China is not the “problem”; the United States’ long-term priorities are the real issue and should be the true source of fear.